The Bulldogs return to the court Wednesday for the second game of the 2010-11 season. Coming off of the season-opening 74-71 victory at Holy Cross on Nov. 12, Yale visits Boston University hoping to add to the momentum gained from last week's victory. The non-conference matchup at the Case Gymnasium on the Boston University campus tips off at 7 p.m.

All 10 players who saw action in Friday evening's season opener at Holy Cross put points on the scoreboard in helping the Bulldogs to the hard-fought 74-71 victory. Sophomore Megan Vasquez scored a team-high 17 points and dished out seven assists in the winning effort, while senior Mady Gobrecht scored all 10 of her points in the second half. She also grabbed eight rebounds. Starting in place of injured forward Michelle Cashen, junior Verena Lehner made the most of her opportunity by scoring 15 points in 24 minutes of action.

With head coaching credentials that include stops at women's basketball powers in the PAC-10 and the Atlantic Coast Conference, Chris Gobrecht came to Yale in 2005 with a reputation for turning programs around.

In 2009-10, Gobrecht guided the Bulldogs to a 13-15 finish, the highest win total since the 14 victories in the 2001-02 season. Yale closed the 2009-10 campaign with an 8-6 record in Ivy League play, the best conference record since the 2001-02 season. It was the second time that Yale finished as high as fourth place in the Ivy League since 2001-02.

After posting a 3-24 mark in her first season with the Bulldogs, Coach Gobrecht led the team to 12 wins in the 2006-07. The nine-win improvement was one of the best in Division I that season. The 2006-07 season was highlighted by a six-game winning streak and a 15-point victory over a Marist squad that would reach the Regional Semifinals (Sweet 16) of the NCAA Tournament. Yale was also the only Ivy League team to defeat league champion Harvard. In 2007-08, Gobrecht led the Bulldogs to a 7-7 record and fourth-place finish in the Ivy League, their best conference finish since 2001-02.

Though the 2008-09 Bulldog squad was hampered by a multitude of injuries, Gobrecht led her team to an 11-17 record, the team's second-highest win total in the past seven seasons. 2008-09 also featured a landmark victory for the program over North Carolina State, Yale's first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. Gobrecht also reached a milestone 450th career coaching win last season.

Gobrecht has amassed a 474-401 (.542) record during her 30 seasons, ranking her 30th among active coaches in career victories. The ninth coach in the 38-year history of Yale women's basketball, Gobrecht has more career Division I victories than any other active basketball coach in the Ivy League, men or women. In her tenure at Yale, she has coached an Ivy League Rookie of the Year (Melissa Colborne, 2006-07) and two first team All-Ivy players (Colborne, 2007-08 and Erica Davis, 2006-07). Prior to Gobrecht's arrival in the Elm City, a Bulldog player had not earned first team All-Ivy accolades since Katy Grubbs in the 1997-98 campaign.

After turning around the Cal State Fullerton program, Gobrecht moved on to the University of Washington. In 11 years, her teams went to the NCAA Tournament on nine occasions. The Huskies reached the NCAA Regional Semifinals four times during her tenure, and advanced to the Regional Finals (Elite Eight) in 1990. She won at least 16 games every year at Washington, including eight 20-win campaigns (six consecutive), and is the Huskies' all-time winningest coach with 243 victories. Washington won three conference championships and finished second four times during her tenure. A two-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Gobrecht led Washington to a school-record 28 wins and a number-three national ranking in 1989-90. The Huskies were the only team to beat eventual NCAA Champion Stanford that season.

After 11 years at Washington, Gobrecht took over a struggling Florida State program in 1996. The Seminoles went 5-22 in Gobrecht's only season before she left Tallahassee to take over at her alma mater, Southern California.

With USC's win over Pepperdine on Dec. 4, 2002, Gobrecht became the 33rd active coach to reach the 400-win mark. In seven seasons with the Women of Troy, Gobrecht posted a 95-108 record. USC posted three winning seasons during her tenure, including a 15-13 mark in her final year, 2003-04. Two of her recruiting classes were ranked among the best in the country, and her teams regularly faced some of the best competition in the nation, including Pac-10 rival Stanford. In 2002-03 alone, the Women of Troy faced three of the previous four national champions: Connecticut, Tennessee and Notre Dame.

Gobrecht began her Division I coaching career with a struggling Cal State Fullerton program in 1979-80. She coached the Titans for six seasons, posting an 84-82 record. She led Cal State Fullerton to an 18-12 record in her third season on the job. In the 1984-85 season, Gobrecht's last with Cal State Fullerton, the Titans posted a 19-11 record and made their first appearance in the WNIT, making her a finalist for national Coach of the Year honors.

She served as an assistant for a USA Basketball select team which played in Czechoslovakia and Italy in 1990. In addition, six of Gobrecht's former players have played professionally in the WNBA and ABL.

Her coaching career began in 1978 at Santa Fe Springs (Calif.) High School, where her team went 20-4 and made the CIF AAA playoffs. The next year, Gobrecht led Pasadena City College to a 25-5 record, a conference championship and second place in the state junior college tournament.

A Toledo, Ohio native and a graduate of Huntington Beach (Calif.) High School, Gobrecht earned a bachelor's degree in public affairs from USC in 1977. Then known by her maiden name of Chris Geiger, she was a three-year starter for the Women of Troy from 1974-76 and also played two seasons of volleyball at USC. After graduation, she spent a year volunteering in the Peace Corps, where she worked as an English teacher at St. Mary's College in Apia, Western Samoa.

She and her husband, Bob, the Managing Director of Special Olympics North America, have two children: Eric, 24, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy currently attending flight school, and Madeline, 21, a senior forward on the team.

Scouting Boston University

Entering the season as the preseason favorite to win the America East Conference championship, the Terriers are coming off of a 16-15 overall performance in 2009-10, which included a third-place 11-5 finish in the America East and a berth in the Women's NIT postseason tournament. The Terriers lost in the WNIT first round to Providence. The Terriers return all five starters, including Chantell Alford, a unanimous America East Rookie of the Year selection. Alford scored 447 points in her freshman campaign, becoming the first America East rookie since Maine's Cindy Blodgett (1995) to earn All-Conference First Team honors.

Series History

Yale has faced Boston University 11 times since 1981. In that span, B.U. owns a 9-2 record, winning the first seven games of the series. The Terriers are 5-0 vs. the Bulldogs at home. The teams have split the last four meetings, though the Bulldogs earned a 61-57 victory in New Haven last season.

The Last Meeting

Mady Gobrecht scored a career-high 18 points to lead four players in double figures as the Bulldogs defeated visiting Boston University on Dec. 9, 2009, by a score of 61-57. The Bulldogs had to rally from an eight-point deficit over the final seven minutes of the contest to secure the victory. Gobrecht added eight rebounds to her career-high scoring output. Mo Moran also scored 18 points to lead the Terriers. Megan Vasquez netted 13 points for Yale. Yoyo Greenfield scored 12 points for the Bulldogs, while Melissa Colborne chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.

A Familiar Face

Boston University Head Coach Kelly Greenberg is no stranger to the Bulldogs or the Ivy League. She served as the head coach at Penn for five seasons, leading the Quakers to four winning seasons, including two Ivy League championships. While at Penn, Greenberg posted an 84-54 overall record and a 51-19 mark in Ivy league play. In her first season as a head coach in 1999-00, Greenberg's squad posted its first winning season in eight years. In 2000-01, she guided the Quakers to an Ivy League championship following an unblemished 14-0 run against Ivy opponents. The Quakers earned the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid and posted a school-best 22-6 overall record.

Howdy Neighbor

The Terriers sophomore sensation Chantell Alford is no stranger to basketball fans in the Elm City. The West Haven native was a three-time Southern Connecticut Conference All-Oronoque Division selection while starring for Wilbur Cross High School, and she was a New Haven Register All-State Third Team honoree in her junior season. A four-year starter for the Governors, Alford got off to a quick start for the Terriers, leading the team in scoring in her freshman season with a 14.9 ppg. average, which was 14th in the nation among rookie scorers.

The Bulldogs in 2009-10

Following an 11-17 showing in 2008-09 that included a 4-10 record in Ivy League play, Yale made significant strides last season behind the play of leading scorer Megan Vasquez (11.5 ppg). Following her selection to the All-Ivy Rookie Team as a freshman, Michelle Cashen averaged 8.5 ppg and was second on the team in steals (37) and shooting percentage (44.6 percent), which earned her a spot on the All-Ivy Second Team. The pair led the Bulldogs (13-15, 8-6 Ivy League) to a fourth-place finish in Ivy League play.

Nice to Meet You

Non-conference games against Florida State, Delaware and Villanova will all be first-time meetings. The scheduled West Coast trip will mark just the second meeting Yale has had with California and UC Davis.

Familiar Faces

The Bulldogs return four starters and seven letterwinners in total from the 2009-10 campaign. Yale also expects sophomore guard Aarica West to return to the lineup after she missed the final 27 games of last season due to injury.

The Fab Four

Yale has bolstered its lineup for 2010-11 with four freshmen that are expected to make an immediate impact. Guard Amanda Tyson, forwards Janna Graf and Alexandra Osborn-Jones, and center Zenab Keita comprise one of the strongest freshman classes during Head Coach Chris Gobrecht's tenure.

Next in Line

The Bulldogs return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 20, when open the home portion of their 2010-11 slate against Delaware in a 7 p.m. contest. It is the first meeting between the two teams. The Blue Hens are led by sophomore Elena Delle Donne, who was named to preseason watch lists for several national player of the year awards.